The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

Somewhere along the northern border of the Ushif Empire.

A desolate wilderness where a biting cold wind, carrying the air of frozen ground, pricks at the skin, and there, Alice strides alone through its heart.

In her right hand, she held a wanted poster spread throughout the empire, listing Cyan’s fabricated crimes.

Alice stopped in her tracks for a moment to look at her hands.

Both hands were reddened from the cold, but she felt neither chilly nor pained.

Instead, it felt rather pleasant.

Had it not been for Cyan saving her life, she wouldn’t have been able to feel even this sensation.

“Whatever path you choose, Cyan, I will respect your decision.”

Even if the whole world were to point fingers, calling him a mistaken existence,

Alice wanted to help her younger brother, who had given her future a new direction, in any way possible.

Even if it meant sacrificing more of herself.

“So, I hope you can understand my choice as well.”

With her fist tightly clenched, Alice moved forward again into the territory of the frost, where the wind was blowing.

* * *

The knights of the empire ultimately failed to find any trace of Cyan.

Since they couldn’t hastily conclude he had ‘died,’ they initially assumed he had ‘escaped,’ and the remaining cleanup among those left behind was carried out afterward.

Arin was transferred to a monastery not far from the scene, where she received simple treatment.

In reality, the treatment was akin to solitary confinement in a cell.

Sitting on the bed in the cell, which had only one window, Arin spent the entire day with a pale expression on her face.

What happened to Cyan?

And what were the identities of those golden giants he had confronted?

She asked several people who were at the scene, but no one claimed to have seen anything resembling the giants, unanimously denying their existence.

Could she have been seeing things?

Was she making nonsensical claims, saying she saw something nobody else did?

Frustrated by the lack of answers, Arin was left pulling at her hair.

-Knock knock

Then, there was a knock at the door.

“May I come in?”

At the familiar voice, Arin stood up abruptly.

“Luna?!”

Luna peeked through the slightly opened door and greeted her warmly.

“I’m glad to see you’re safe.”

Arin approached the door to welcome her.

“How did you get here?”

“I walked.”

“That’s not what I meant! Weren’t you being interrogated with the members of the Garam Academy?”

“It was more of a negotiation than an interrogation.”

With Prince Luinel in shock and unable to manage the situation following Aschel’s death, Kundel took charge of the overall cleanup.

One of these tasks included the interrogation of the Auram Academy for unauthorized use of magic within the territory of the Ushif Empire.

Chairman Regens of the academy did not resist when he heard that Kundel was in charge of the cleanup and immediately agreed to negotiate.

“The adults said it’s their job now, and the kids should stay out of it. What can we do? We have to meet among ourselves, right?”

“Didn’t you stand up to your grandfather, I mean, Chairman Regens? Are you really okay?”

“It was touch-and-go. I was out of magic, and it seemed like the only thing left was to get a lesson from my grandfather when we both fainted.”

Like Arin, Luna and other members of the Auram Academy had also lost consciousness and collapsed under the pressure of an unknown force.

“By the way, Senior Set hasn’t woken up yet. I thought he might be dead, so I sneakily checked…”

“And? What did you see?”

“He’s sleeping soundly. Snoring like thunder and lightning…”

Arin, who had braced herself for the worst, let out a sigh of relief.

“You guys are really something. Deciding to help Cyan wasn’t an easy decision…”

“Well, I didn’t really think it was that hard… Anyway, Arin, you came here to help Cyan too, right?”

Arin couldn’t easily respond.

Set and Luna played a crucial role in buying time for Cyan and his group to evacuate. However, Arin, in her attempt to converse with Cyan, inadvertently caused delays.

Luna, looking down at a crestfallen Arin, inquired again, “Arin, you saw it, didn’t you? What happened to Cyan?”

“I did, but honestly, I’m not sure if I saw it correctly. I wonder if it was all just a figment of my imagination…”

“What did you see?”

After hesitating for a moment, Arin confidently shared the scene she witnessed with Luna.

Luna, seemingly intrigued, stroked her chin and lips as she listened to the story.

“So, Cyan protected you, didn’t he?”

Arin, startled, quickly retorted, “How did it come to that conclusion?”

“If you woke up to find that only the area around you was untouched, and the rest was a disaster, doesn’t that mean he desperately protected you in a situation where even keeping himself safe was difficult? If Arin was truly worthless, he wouldn’t have cared whether you were hurt or died.”

That made sense upon reflection.

Until the end, Arin was very close to Cyan, and no one but Cyan was in a position to protect her.

Yet, she was unharmed.

“Cyan really…?”

Confusion only deepened in Arin’s mind.

Luna sighed deeply as she looked at the morning sky.

“Who exactly is he fighting against?”

Assuming Arin’s story was true, Cyan was undoubtedly beyond human.

Arin, with her face buried in her hands, cautiously asked, “Is he still alive? Cyan?”

“He must be. Very much alive.”

“Do you have a reason to be so sure?”

“It’s just a feeling,” Luna shrugged nonchalantly.

Arin chuckled and nodded, “Luna, you’re really strong.”

“You’re not so bad yourself, Arin.”

Despite their different paths, Arin and Luna shared one thing in common: they both were saved by Cyan.

Their shared wish was the same going forward.

To be of help to Cyan in any way possible.

To achieve this, they couldn’t afford to be complacent with their current reality.

“Luna, what are you going to do moving forward?”

“I guess I’ll have to continue attending the academy. I still need some time away from the academy where my grandfather is. I’m not sure if he’ll let me keep attending, though…”

Convincing her grandfather was a separate issue, so it wasn’t a big problem for Luna.

“But I plan to make the most of it. Both my grandfather and the academy.”

“Make use of the academy?”

“Yes. You have to use what you have. Until now, I’ve been uncooperative, but from now on, I’m going to try every experiment the academy can offer. I’ll be getting my hands dirty too.”

“And what do you plan to do with that?”

“Obviously, to grow stronger. So that I can be of help to senior Cyan when we meet again…”

Arin was momentarily speechless at Luna’s confident attitude.

But she didn’t feel it was wrong.

On the contrary, it had a big impact on Arin.

A smile soon returned to Arin’s lips as she realized what she had to do.

“Actually, I made a promise to Cyan on my own.”

“What promise?”

“I told him I’d make him regret it. In many ways…”

“That sounds like a difficult promise. The senior Cyan I know doesn’t seem like someone who would ever regret anything.”

“Right? But I won’t give up.”

Arin extended her hand to Luna for a handshake.

“Let’s work hard together, Luna.”

Luna looked at the hand for a moment, then,

‘They say the end of cooperation is competition…’

Happily shook Arin’s hand.

* * *

The unfortunate incident that occurred in Brenu quickly became publicized and spread throughout the empire, reaching even the borders of the empire at Vellias.

Duke Vert read the official letter he received from Eulken atop a cliff overlooking the scenery of Lemea Valley, without a hint of change in expression.

“Is everything written in this letter true?”

“Yes…”

The youngest of the Duke Vert’s household, Cyan, mercilessly murdered the eldest, Aschel.

For Willius Vert, the father, it was news that truly shattered his heart.

“Where is Aschel’s body?”

“Somehow, it was recovered, but I’ve heard it was damaged so severely that it’s unrecognizable.”

“Is that so?”

Even as he heard the tragic news that his most beloved eldest son had been killed by the youngest, Duke Vert’s expression remained remarkably calm.

Eulken, sweating profusely inside his armor, awaited the Duke’s next command.

“Eulken.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“How do you think I feel right now?”

Unable to grasp the intention behind the question, Eulken hesitated for a moment.

“How could I possibly comprehend Your Grace’s profound grief?”

“Grief… So, you think I am sad?”

“That’s correct.”

“It’s more unsettling than sad.”

For a moment, Eulken thought he had heard wrong and lifted his head.

“More than unsettling, it’s perplexing.”

There was still no change in Duke Vert’s expression.

Seeing Eulken enveloped in no small shock, the Duke asked again.

“Do you not understand my reaction?”

“I am sorry, but yes. Wasn’t Prince Aschel the child you loved the most? I remember you were always proud of him, saying he would be the guardian who would protect the continent after you…”

“That’s true. But, knowing now that he was not fit for such a role, I don’t feel much emotion. It turns out, the child was lacking in many ways to undertake the great responsibility.”

Hearing the Duke’s response, Eulken thought to himself.

He’s cold.

In other words, ruthless.

To this Willius Vert, are children merely successors to inherit his family business?

While Eulken felt that not just anyone could become the guardian of the continent, he also felt a sense of pity for the lord he had served all his life.

To him, it seemed nothing was more important than the peace of the continent.

The Duke asked again.

“Have you found out about Alice’s whereabouts?”

“Since the last sighting near the northern borders of the Empire, there have been no further sightings.”

“It feels like just yesterday she confidently told me she wanted to carry on the family’s will, but now it seems everyone’s hearts have changed.”

The Duke let out a bitter smile.

“I’ve checked the official documents. Tell the knights not to be disturbed and to faithfully carry out their duties.”

“Yes!”

Upon receiving the order, Eulken immediately left his seat.

Left alone, Duke Vert sighed as he looked out over the canyon where the Blood River flowed.

“Cyan…”

He thought of him as a late bloomer with exceptional talent.

He simply thought of him as a prodigy with a more mature heart than others.

But that wasn’t the case.

The youngest had harbored far more intentions than he had thought.

He had volunteered for the front lines at such a young age to gain experience, ultimately because from the beginning, he had harbored more intentions than just carrying on the family’s will,

Duke Vert realized this only now.

“What kind of life do you want?”

All that came out of his frustration was a sigh.

Just as he was about to return to the camp,

“……!”

Someone appeared from the dark bushes.

This was a frontline area where only knights capable of fighting against demonic beasts were allowed entry.

However, the stranger who appeared before the Duke was not one of the frontline knights he knew.

He was a young man with a youthful face, more mature than Cyan but slightly younger than Alice.

He bowed politely to the Duke.

“Have you been well? Duke Willius Vert.”

“Who are you?”

The man lifted his head with a serene smile.

As the Duke closely examined his face, his pupils dilated in shock.

The familiar features and the intense gaze that closely resembled the Duke’s own.

“Could it be? You, possibly?”

It was an appearance that reminded him of someone buried deep in his old memories.

“Please forgive me for coming to see you only now.”

“Were you alive?”

The Duke approached the man with a mixture of ecstasy and bewilderment.

Once again, the man bowed, introducing himself formally.

“The second son of the Vert Ducal family, Damian Vert. I greet you, father.”

(To be continued)